The Great Falls are the
second-highest on the east coast (second only to Niagara). The Great Falls thunders
over a rocky ledge, 70 feet deep, about 60 feet wide to a broad basin descending 20 feet
through traprock and sandstone to the City of Paterson.

####

Background

One of the first major US water power system and
basis for integrating urban planning with industrial development. The raceway and
power system, constructed from 1792 to 1864, was the first major water power system in the
United States. The project, conceived by Alexander Hamilton in 1791 and designed by Pierre
Charles L'Enfant, engineer-planner of the Capitol, and Peter Colt is the basis of the
oldest American community integrating water power, industrial development, and urban
planning.

It was the abundance of inexpensive energy provided by the Great Falls raceway and water
power system that attracted countless creative and innovative men and women who built and
continually improved such industries as textiles and textile machinery, the Colt revolver,
Rogers' and other steam locomotives, silk manufacturing, flax and jute production, early
Wright aircraft engines, apparel manufacturing, and many more. Source: www.asme.org#####

A HYDROELECTRIC PLANT and a STEAM PLANT of the
Society for Establishing Useful Manufactures (known throughout Paterson as S.U.M.) are in
the gorge of Passaic River, just below the falls. From the sidewalk a steep, sodded
embankment slopes to the level of the large brick buildings.

In 1791 Governor William Paterson of New Jersey
signed the charter giving the tax-free Society for Establishing Useful Manufactures the
right to organize and sell stock. Not until 1814, when a drastic reorganization of the
S.U.M. took place and the Colt family became virtual dictators of the corporation's
affairs, did a business boom start the society on the road to financial success. The
history since then has been stormy, marked by numerous court cases and disputes with other
organizations. In 1824 the Morris Canal and Banking Company sued to gain rights to the
Passaic River. The court ruled in 1829 that S.U.M. possessed title "to the flow of
all the waters of the Passaic at the great falls, in their ancient channel without
diminution or alteration."

Public opinion forced the society to relinquish
its lottery rights in 1848, but the host of other charter privileges remained. When the
hydroelectric plant was installed in 1912, the city of Paterson attempted to tax its
operation, but the court again ruled in favor of S.U.M. Another suit was lost by the city
in 1937. The municipal government contended that he society already had enjoyed 140 years
of special rights and that by giving up manufacturing in 1796 and leasing the sites out to
private concerns, it has forfeited its tax-exempt privileges. www.getnj.com####

Paterson can be aptly called the "Cradle of American Industry." It was near the
Great Falls of the Passaic River that plans for an industrial metropolis were developed at
the end of the eighteenth century.

In 1791, Secretary of the
Treasury Alexander Hamilton helped promote a private, state chartered corporation, the
"Society for Establishing Useful Manufactures" (S.U.M.). It was through
Hamiltons influence that the directors of the S.U.M. located the town of Paterson at
the Great Falls. The new town was named after William Paterson, the Governor of New
Jersey, in appreciation of his approval of their business plans. The S.U.M. planned to
utilize the Passaic River to supply waterpower by diverting its water through a
three-tiered raceway system.

Although the S.U.M failed to
realize its manufacturing objectives, it did succeed in developing real estate and
supplying of power to the growing number of various industries that were building
factories around the area of the Great Falls. The industries that ultimately emerged
produced textile machinery, steam locomotives, silk weaving and dyeing, revolvers,
aircraft engines, and various other products.

The S.U.M. continued its
corporate existence well into the 20th century. In 1945, its property, assets,
charter rights, raceway system and steam and hydroelectric power plants were sold to the
City of Paterson. Twenty-six years later, the non-profit Great Falls Preservation and
Development Corporation was established to restore and redevelop the historic mill
buildings and raceways. On June 6, 1976, President Gerald R. Ford visited Paterson and
officially designated the 119-acre Great Falls/S.U.M. historic district as a national
historic landmark. A number of mill buildings have been rehabilitated for use as offices,
living space, cultural facilities and schools.

The City of Patersons Great
Falls Center, conveniently located across from the Great Falls at 65 McBride Avenue
extension, offers educational services that include historic interpretation and guided
walks featuring an overview of the District, its significant industrial architecture,
history, and current projects. For information about Visitor Center hours and services
call 973-279-9587.

Source: Passaic
County 2003 Directory
####

Great Falls is now
officially a State Park

Great
Falls under state umbrella

By NATE SCHWEBER, HERALD NEWS , Friday,
October 22, 2004

PATERSON -- Standing between the
second largest waterfall east of the Mississippi River and more than 100 residents, Gov.
James E. McGreevey announced that the Great Falls is now officially a state park in New
Jersey.

"Today is an important day
in which we celebrate not only God's natural beauty, but the people of Paterson, the ones
who worked in these mills and who walked these streets," McGreevey said.

During a press conference at a
site overlooking the falls Thursday morning, the governor also announced the creation of
two other state parks, in addition to the Great Falls State Park. One lies along the
Hackensack River in River Edge, in Bergen County; the other park includes sections of
downtown Trenton.

An unspecified amount of money
from the Green Acres fund will come into Great Falls State Park, McGreevey said. Currently
there is a bill providing $2.3 million in Green Acres funds working its way through the
state Assembly.

The three new parks bring New
Jersey's total number of state parks to 52. They are the first state parks created in New
Jersey since 2000, McGreevey said, and Great Falls State Park and the park in Trenton are
the first urban state parks created in 30 years.

"Some of our most
significant historical areas are in our cities," McGreevey said. "And our
children in cities need open space and green space as much as any other child in New
Jersey."

McGreevey told the crowd that he
set a goal when he took office in 2002 to create 200 local parks and two state parks. So
far, he has created 205 local parks and three state parks.

The announcement of the three
state parks was one of McGreevey's last acts as governor. He announced in August that he
would leave office on Nov. 15.

The park will be 112 acres,
though the exact boundaries will be determined at a later date, said Bradley Campbell,
commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection.

The state will sponsor a
competition for companies to submit plans for Great Falls State Park, said Tom Moran,
senior program adviser of visual arts for the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. The
state has budgeted $300,000 for developers to build models of their ideas for Great Falls
State Park and the park in Trenton, he said. The state will be ready to give contracts to
developers in the summer of 2005, Moran said.

Over the next six months, the
council on the arts will hold public meetings and meet face-to-face with community leaders
to brainstorm ideas for things, such as fences, informational plaques and benches, to be
built at Great Falls State Park, Moran said.

In the spring the city will build
a 500-seat amphitheater facing the falls and a fountain at the base of the power plant,
said Grace Lynch of L+C Design and Consultants in Paterson.

The first phase of upgrades to
Great Falls State Park will not include the Allied Textile Printing site, where the first
Colt .45 revolvers were manufactured, said Mayor Jose "Joey" Torres. The second
phase of upgrades may include the historic ATP site.

The National Park Service is
still studying the Great Falls to see if it meets requirements to be included as a
national park, Torres said. The requirements include offering historical merit to the
country, showing a facet of U.S. history not currently represented in a national park, and
sustainability.

"Today's announcement begins
the rebirth of Paterson," he said. "With a little imagination, Paterson can
become a great tourist destination."

Jose L. Fernandez, director of
the New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry, said that McGreevey instructed him to
prioritize making the Great Falls a state park when he started his job in February.

"It does two things, it
provides the kind of recreation not available to inner city residents and it preserves and
protects one of the last natural wonders in the area," he said.

The River Edge park will be at
Historic New Bridge Landing and will include the Steuben House, a historic home built by
Dutch settlers, and the pony-truss swing bridge. It will also have a new visitor's center
and interpretive center.

The park in Trenton will link the
Delaware and Raritan Canal State Park to other parks and historic sites.

They include the Hamilton-Trenton
Marsh, Stacy Park, Mill Hill Park, the Trenton Battle Monument and three national historic
landmarks, the Old Barracks Museum, the John Abbott National Historic Landmark and the
William Trent House.